Three is Always Better Than Two
by jelazakazone
Summary: Warnings: excessive use of cliches, tropes, and crack Summary: Arthur, Merlin, and Mordred are trapped in an elevator Relationships: Arthur/Merlin ?


virtually unbeta'd. **nympha_alba** kindly chatted with me about some of it, I made a few changes. Lay all the blame on me. This is for **delorispea** who wanted "trapped" and someone being oblivious.

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"Hold that door!"

Arthur's hand shot out, stopping the automatic door, allowing the dapper young man to enter the elevator. He smiled broadly.

"Oi, Mordred! Well, met. Which floor?"

The man looked up, squinted his eyes closed, and snapped his fingers. "Umm, six, yes, I'm sure it's floor six."

"Great. You're all set then. We're headed for the sixth floor too. Right, Merlin?"

Merlin glowered in the corner. He nodded curtly.

"Oh, nevermind him. He's out of sorts today. His cat just died."

"I don't even have a cat," Merlin muttered from his corner.

The man raised his eyebrows, a smile quirking at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the compartment shuddered.

"Aw, man," Merlin said. "Gaius will never believe me that I'm late because the lift stopped. I've already got too many infractions."

"Dude, chill. You are the best lab tech Gaius has, he's lucky to have you, and besides, I'm the lab supervisor, so, no worries."

"Right, right. I keep forgetting that." Merlin shook his head and then bounced on his toes, shaking his tension out.

The two men had been so busy chattering, they hadn't been paying attention to Mordred until that moment.

"Mordred," Arthur said gently, "you doing ok there? You don't look so hot."

Mordred gulped, wiping at his brow, dark curls now damp with sweat.

"I dd-dd-don't like small sp- sp- spaces," he stuttered out.

"Ah, well, you're in luck then."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because there're three of us here and three's always better than two, isn't that right, Merlin?" Arthur clapped a hand on Mordred's shoulder. "Come on, we'll distract you. I'm sure the power will be back up in no time."

A thunderclap rumbled, sending vibrations through the elevator car. Mordred blanched, even more blood draining from his already pale face. In the dim light, he almost glowed.

Arthur loosened his tie. "It's getting a bit warm in here, isn't it?" Then he unbuttoned the top couple buttons.

Mordred's eyes widened. He pursed his lips together.

"So, Mordred, you must be going to Albion Labs too, but, um, I've never seen you there before."

Mordred nodded. "Yeah, that's right. I was supposed to be going for a job interview," he paused and motioned at Arthur, "with the lab supervisor. I guess that's you."

Arthur lit up. "Hey, that's me! Oh yeah. Right. I had an interview first thing. Well, why wait? Let's conduct it here." Arthur tugged at his collar. "You don't mind if I take off my jacket to get comfortable, do you?"

"You prat! You can't ask him a question like that. Of course he's going to say whatever he thinks you want to hear. Just get on with it already." Now Merlin was really glowering.

"Merlin, take it easy. What's your problem today anyway, sleep on the wrong side of the bed?"

"You know which side of the bed I slept on, clotpole," he muttered affectionately.

Arthur looked back at Mordred.

"So, Mordred, you are interested in working for Albion Labs." Arthur looked down, realized he didn't have his briefcase with him, and looked back at Merlin. "Uh, Merlin, do you know where my briefcase is?"

"Arthur," Merlin sighed heavily, "I'm not your man servant."

"Right. Right." Arthur nodded and then said more quietly, "Ok, I can do this." He closed his eyes.

"Mmm, why do you think you are the right candidate for the job?"

"Oooh, bringing out the big guns first thing," Merlin commented.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur hissed.

"No, no. That's quite all right." Mordred shoved his damp fringe back, trying to push the dangling curls out of his eyes. He gulped, again. "I graduated summa cum laude from Yale and while I was there, garnered two awards for the lab I worked in under Dr. Ice."

"Well, that's quite an accomplishment for someone so young, but how do I know the awards were because of your work?"

Mordred looked down and opened his briefcase.

"I see _someone_ remembered his briefcase," Merlin whispered.

Mordred pulled out a folder, opened it neatly, and pulled out a bound portfolio. "I think you'll find all the answers to your questions here, sir." He offered it to Arthur.

Arthur took it and squinted at the pages. "It's too dark in here. I can't make out the writing." Arthur squirmed. "I am really hot. You don't mind if I lose my shirt, entirely, do you?"

"Er, no. I suppose not," Mordred replied, clearly discomfited by the question.

"Want some help with that?" Merlin asked.

Arthur just glared at him, worked his buttons loose, and puddled the shirt next to his jacket. He wiped his hand down his chest in a clear attempt to dry his hand, but it was a futile effort. His undershirt was soaked through and clinging to his chest, leaving little to the imagination. Merlin coughed, Mordred did his own squirming.

"Ok, right. Where were we? Ah, qualifications. Right. So. You clearly have lab qualifications. That's sorted then. What about interpersonal skills? We have some techs who are a little hard to deal with." He very pointedly did not look at Merlin.

"Well, I was a resident assistant on my hall the last two years in college. I also have certification from The Knights of Camelot Course."

Arthur threw back his head and laughed.

"Was Gwaine your teacher?"

Mordred gaped a little. "How'd you know?"

"Ah, Gwaine was a good mate of mine in college. No one else played the field the way he did." Arthur winked.

Mordred blushed so fiercely it was noticeable even in the dim glow of the powerless elevator car.

Arthur just kept going. "Did he invite you to play, then?"

Mordred nodded, a little hesitantly.

"Yeah, he really controlled the pitch back in the day. I suppose he's still pretty strong out there?"

Mordred let out a deep breath in a whoosh and Merlin laughed.

"Haa haaa. Mordred thought you were asking if Gwaine asked him for a game in the sack." Merlin doubled over with laughter at this.

Mordred gave the other men a sheepish look as another rumble of thunder shook the car.

"Um, looks like we'll be stuck here for a while. Do you mind if I, um, shed a layer?"

"Sure, Mordred. Go ahead!" Arthur encouraged.

Mordred shucked his jacket and tugged at his own tie. He combed fingers through loose curls.

"There. You look better now." Arthur leered at Mordred. Merlin went back to glowering. Mordred shuffled his feet a little.

Merlin smacked his lips before reaching into his satchel. He pulled out a water bottle, unscrewed the cap and wrapped his lips around the mouth before greedily sucking water down.

"Hey there, have some manners, why don'tcha?" Arthur complained. "The rest of us might be thirsty too!"

"No, no. I'm just f-f-fine," Mordred stammered.

"See, Mordred's fine," Merlin smiled as though he were the cat licking cream out of the bowl.

Arthur lunged. "Well, I'm thirsty!"

"Hey, who says you can just ravage my water bottle whenever you want?"

Arthur backed Merlin into the corner until there was no space between them. Mordred let out a little squeak that neither Merlin nor Arthur remarked on.

Voice low and seductive, hands pulling Merlin's hips into his own, Arthur said, "Me." He leaned forward to claim a kiss, merely grazing the soft lips before Merlin pushed his hand against Arthur's chest.

"Hey, I saw a couple drops on your lips. I'm thirsty. You can't blame me for trying."

Now Merlin's lips were pursed. "Arthur," he said in a low growl, "you act like you're the fucking king or something, but we all know you're no better than the rest of us."

"Ok, ok." He backed up.

Merlin's stance softened. "Here. Take it. I was just drinking the water to egg you on."

Arthur smiled. "You'll pay for that. Later."

He tipped his head back and drank deeply, both men watching his throat work in the dim lighting, sweat gleaming on the exposed skin.

"Ah, I feel _much_ better now." Arthur grinned, white teeth practically glowing.

The floor beneath them shuddered and the lights flickered. The whine of an engine could be heard.

"Finally!" "About time." "Well, that was fun." They all said at the same time.

Arthur looked at Mordred and Merlin. "What? Well, I mean for being stuck in a hot, dark elevator. Am I right?"

Mordred and Merlin continued to look at him, rather pointedly. Arthur picked up his discarded clothing.

"Ah, come on guys. Tell you what, after work tonight, let's go to the bar. My treat." He whistled as he slung an arm over each man's shoulders.

*ding* The elevator reached the 6th floor and the three walked out, linked by Arthur.


End file.
